Z for Zachariah: Watch the 1984 Version Right Now

Z for Zachariah premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and then was released nationwide, with many people really enjoying the unique movie. The post-apocalyptic indie thriller stars Chris Pine of Star Trek fame. But did you know that a version of this movie already aired on the BBC back in 1984?

The movie takes place after an apocalypse that wipes out civilization as we know it. A woman who thinks she’s the only survivor finds a scientist and they form a friendship. But things get weird when another male survivor joins the group.

It sounds like a post-apocalyptic movie based ENTIRELY on the premise of a love triangle, which seems to be really popular these days. I’m not really into the whole love triangle thing, but maybe you are?

Well, if you want to get a jump on the other viewers and get an idea of what this movie is about, the BBC actually aired its own 2 hour version back in 1984. This one featured a 16-year-old girl who meets a scientist after a nuclear war. It’s on YouTube and you can watch it above.

I have no idea how similar this BBC version will be to the movie, but I can only imagine there will be significant differences. I’m sure the newer version will be significantly better. Maybe it won’t drag out as much and perhaps the landscape will look more realistic for a nuclear apocalypse (read: less lush and fertile!)

This is all based on a book, Z for Zachariah, that’s available on Amazon. You can buy it at this link, and can even get an audiobook version if you’re traveling. I haven’t read the book, but it’s written by the same author who wrote the Secret of NIMH book that inspired the movie that haunted my dreams as a child, so I imagine it’s pretty good!

If you’ve seen this or have any thoughts on the upcoming Sundance version, please leave a comment! For more post-apocalyptic updates, please subscribe to this blog. 🙂

Stephanie Dwilson started Post Apocalyptic Media with her husband Derek. Her favorite shows of all-time are Battlestar Galactica and Lost, and she's always happy to talk about her cats. :) She sometimes posts stuff on her personal
blog too.